


Broken Home

by KyNotKyle



Series: Sunset Curve and New Music [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Broken Home broke me when i heard it so..., Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Little bit of PTSD, Music, Reggie Peters Has ADHD (Julie and The Phantoms), This is me projecting, no beta we die like three teenagers in an alley, not mentioned but its there, sorry Reggie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyNotKyle/pseuds/KyNotKyle
Summary: When Reggie visits his old home he hears a song with lyrics that sound familiar. When he listens to it fully he is forced to truly remember what his life had been like before he died.or:Reggie Hears Broken Home and Also He Has Trauma
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Reggie Peters, Ray Molina & Reggie Peters
Series: Sunset Curve and New Music [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131110
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	1. Julie

**Author's Note:**

> CW// this work references child abuse
> 
> this is kinda based on my own experiences and is definitely just me projecting onto Reggie 😬  
> i wrote this at 3 am so enjoy the mess that it likely is :)

Reggie visits his old home often, Julie would say too often. He says its for “closure” like he heard Alex talking about once but he’s not quite sure he really believes it. Deep down he doesn’t really know why he always visits that building, he certainly does not miss his home, maybe its because hes glad its gone, maybe he feels like he doesn’t have anywhere else to go when he has alone time. So much of it has changed that he barely recognises it as where he used to live. The general vibe seems a lot happier, theres always happy couples strolling by and music coming from some place or another, loud enough to dull the memories that come with the area.

Today the record shop nearby has an album by a new (well new to him) band playing, 5 Seconds of Summer he thinks its called. Sitting on a bench nearby, chatting casually to a cute boy drawing scenes of the beach in an old sketchpad knowing full well he isn’t being heard. “Then again whats new,” he bitterly thinks, quickly shoving that thought deep in the back of his mind. Deciding he would rather not talk anymore he tunes into the last few seconds of the song from the record store.

“Hey mom, hey dad, when did this end? Where did you lose your happiness? I'm here alone inside of this broken home.” His eyes widen hearing the lyrics and he finds himself in the loft of the studio before he can process that he had poofed away at all, not even having the time to regret the loss of the cute boy from the beach. He takes a few moments to gather his bearings before he gets an idea. Knowing that Julie would be home by now he poofs again in front of her door and hesitates before knocking and poking his head through the door.

“Hey Reg!” Julie says cheerfully gesturing for him to come inside, “whats up?”

“Uh I was just wondering if maybe I could borrow your laptop so I can look up a song title ‘cause I heard the record shop playing something earlier and it sounded-” he cut himself off when he noticed he was about to begin rambling, “sorry I just- would that be okay?”

“Yeah of course Reg, what was it called?” she asks as she opens her computer and opens chrome.

“Um.. I don’t really remember I only heard the last bit but I think the band was called 5 Seconds of Summer.”

“Okay! Sounds good, see if any of the songs on here seem familiar,” Julie types her search into google as she speaks and turns the screen towards Reggie letting him look through the songs.

“It was probably this one,” he points to the one titled “Broken Home” and thanks her before poofing back to the loft where Luke leaves his secondhand laptop leaving a mildly confused Julie sitting on her bed staring at a song she had never heard before.

Reggie struggles for a second but is able to pull the song up on his own computer and grabs a pair of headphones before allowing himself to get absorbed into the song. He doesn’t fight the tears that come while he listens. Once the song is over all he can do is remember. He remembers the fighting, the yelling, the slamming of doors and soon to be broken dishes. He remembers when it got worse and showing up to band practice with bags under his eyes from sleepless nights. He absolutely hates remembering when Alex spotted a bruise and the sad looks he got from Luke and Alex when they found everything out. He cant stand remembering Bobby coming to his house, yelling at his parents and giving him a place to stay. The worst thing he remembers is the hopeless feeling when no one else would believe him.

His remembering is put to a stop when he hears Julie whispering to him, he isn’t sure what but he puts everything he has into focusing on the sound of her voice.

“Hey Reg,” she says softly when she sees that he seems to be more aware of his surroundings, “is it okay if I touch you right now?”

When he gives a small, nearly invisible, nod, she puts a hand on his back and he all but melts into her, collapsing as she wraps him tightly in a hug. She hums an old song her mother had written with her and rubs circles between his shoulders allowing him to calm down. Finally the sobs turn into sniffles and Reggies tight posture loosens.

“I think you already know what happened,” he mutters into Julie’s shoulder with a small laugh.

“Yeah Reg,” she says lightly, “I won’t make you talk about it this time though.” Reggie is eternally grateful that she skips over the whole talking it out part she usually forces the boys into when something happens, likely because they all have the emotional intelligence of pebbles, in her words. He feels as if he owes her an explanation and determines that he will tell her when he’s more put together.

“jus’ haven’t thought about them since...”

“You dont have to tell me.”

“I know, and m’not, thats all you get,” he states and lets out a watery laugh. He groans when he stands up because apparently ghosts still get sore, “uh, how long was I...”

“Not that long…” Julie says checking her watch, “only half an hour.”

“Oh god..” Reggie pulls a hoodie from Alex’s pile of clothes that he’s pretty sure is Willies and replaces his leather jacket. Then he hands Julie a mountain of blankets and pillows and points to the pull out couch offering no explanation. While she sets the pile onto the couch, he switches into a pair of sweatpants and grabs the laptop and his old acoustic guitar, which until then had not seen the light of day in a while.

Julies look of confusion grows when she sees the instrument and computer but just lets it happen and settles herself into the couch. Reggie slowly but successfully googles the chords for ‘Broken Home” and begins to play the magically still intact guitar, humming the melody. Julie sits behind him, putting tiny braids in his short hair and watches silently as he puzzles through the song. She begins to stand up but Reggie puts a hand on her arm and gives her a look that asks her to stay.

Only a few minutes later Alex, quite literally walks through the door and sees Julie running a hand through his hair and the familiar look on Reggies face, and knows that Reggie’s focus was on his guitar, and guitar only, and wouldn’t hear Alex if he tried to call his name. He settles for flickering the lights three times, just like he always had. Albeit a bit delayed Reggie looks up and puts his guitar down to sign something that Julie cant see but Alex seems to understand.

“Do you want me to stay or go Reg,” Julie asks when Alex comes to sit on the mattress and Reggie leans into him.

He seems to ponder for a second before saying “Go.”

Before Alex can try offer an explanation Julie waves her hand at him, “its alright, II get it. Feel better Reg.” He smiles and gives her a small hum rather than a verbal answer and holds up a sign she recognises as “I love you.”


	2. Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Reggie's practice gets interrupted by Ray, he finally talks about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another CW for talk about child abuse
> 
> this is a bit shorter but i wanted to separate the two interactions because they didn't feel right being in one chapter ya know

By the end of the week, Reggie has pretty much learned the whole song and with only Ray home he decides to work on it again. Ray had said he wouldn't mind if he practices in the house so rather than sit in the suffocatingly empty studio he opts for spreading his things over a couch in the living room. Expecting Ray to be in his office working on one of his recent projects Reggie is certainly not prepared when he hears “That was pretty good kiddo,” and sees Ray leaning against the doorframe.

Before he can open his mouth to stutter out an explanation or an apology, he hasn't decided yet, Ray walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder. Entirely against his will, Reggie flinches at the contact and the older man draws his hand back slowly. “Sorry Mr. Molina I was going to play in the garage but you said it was okay to come in here so I thought that-”

Ray cuts him off before the poor kid has a panic attack, “It’s alright kid I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t okay and I’ve told you a million times it's Ray. That song you were working on was beautiful, where’d you learn it?” Ray asked him hoping that shifting the conversation would help calm him down. 

Reggie hesitates and Ray sees that his question may have only made things worse. Ray knows his strengths and words are not one of them, instead he opens his arms and when Reggie moves to accept the hug, Ray holds him tightly as if he could physically block him from the horrors of the world.

After they separate, Reggie looks at the floor gathering as much courage as he can since this conversation will need a lot. “I heard it when I was visiting my old house, or where it used to be.”

“I see, do you miss your old home?”

“Not exactly…” he trails off. “My parents, well they weren't exactly the best people in the world.” A look crosses Ray's face as the image of Reggie flinching away from him comes back to him. “I don’t even know why I go back there anymore, to be honest. Probably the same reason I spent 15 and a half years trying to convince myself they loved me. It really shouldn’t have taken me that long, after the fighting, yelling, the-” he can't bring himself to say what he was thinking but Ray has been around long enough to assume it wasn't good. “It took until they caught my first boyf- my first partner and I together in bed watching movies a little bit too loud until I realized that, in their eyes, I wasn’t even their son, just a kid living in the room next to them. I wish I could just forget them ya know, I hate that I'm still letting them affect me even though it's been 26 years since I’ve seen them.” He pauses for a second before adding, “Sorry you didn't need to hear all of that.”

Ray didn’t want to stop him because he knew that if he did Reggie would likely shut down and try to change the subject. “Reggie you have to stop apologizing for having feelings. And before you can try to apologize again I’m going to stop you,” Ray added after seeing him open his mouth to say something. “Your parents weren’t good people, you're right about that, and you didn’t deserve to have to go through all that. They aren’t here now and they can’t hurt you any longer, which may seem obvious at times but at others, it might be harder to remember. Its perfectly normal that you visit your old home, there are so many things that you need to process, and going back there is a part of that, whether its health or not is another question. And yes, your parents do still affect you, it hasn’t really been 25 years for you, and I honestly would be more concerned if you came out of such a situation without being affected, but that doesn't mean that they have control over you. And I promise you Reg, you will get better, one day all they will be is a distant memory. You’ve made it this far and I know that you’ll be strong enough to make it past this.” He pulled Reggie into his side and planted a kiss on his forehead. 

“Thanks for listening Ray, I’ve never had to actually talk about it before, everyone else just figured it out on their own.”

“You're welcome kiddo, remember I’m here anytime you need me,” Ray says, pulling Reggie into his side. “Now how about you show me one of your country songs, I got a peek at one Luke left in the kitchen, and from what I saw it was pretty good.”


End file.
